PET CT Scan for Delhi Cancer Hospital Patients

There is a moment that repeats itself in cancer treatment across Delhi. The oncologist finishes the consultation, writes “PET CT” on a slip, and says the scan is needed before the next cycle. The family walks out of the hospital holding that slip with no idea where to go, how long it will take, or what it will cost.

Sometimes the hospital has its own facility and a slot is available. Often it does not, or the slot is a week away, or the specific tracer written on the prescription is not available there. That is when families start ringing around.

This guide is for that moment. It covers where Delhi’s major cancer hospitals sit in relation to a dedicated PET-CT centre in Paschim Vihar, what actually decides where you should have the scan, and the questions to ask before you book anywhere.

One thing stated plainly at the start: Neurad Diagnostic and Healthcare LLP is an independent diagnostic centre. We are not part of, owned by, empanelled with, or officially affiliated with any of the hospitals named on this page. They are named because their patients ask us these questions every week, and because knowing the actual distance is genuinely useful when you are planning a scan day.

Why cancer hospitals refer PET CT scans outside

Patients sometimes read a referral as a sign that something is wrong with their hospital. It usually is not. There are ordinary reasons.

Scheduling pressure. A busy oncology department may have its PET slots booked several days ahead. If the oncologist wants the scan before the next cycle, a week’s wait defeats the purpose.

Tracer availability. This is the most common reason and the least understood. Not every PET centre offers every tracer. A centre may run FDG studies daily but arrange PSMA, DOTANOC or FAPI only on particular days, when the tracer has been organised from outside.

No in-house nuclear medicine department. Several excellent hospitals treat cancer without running their own PET-CT service, and refer imaging out as a matter of course.

Patient convenience. Sometimes the oncologist simply knows the patient lives closer to somewhere else, and a two to three hour fasting appointment is easier near home.

Distances from Paschim Vihar to Delhi’s major cancer hospitals

These are straight-line distances measured between mapped coordinates. Road distance is always longer — usually by a third to a half, depending on the route and the time of day. They are given so you can judge scale honestly, not to suggest anyone is a short drive away when they are not.

Hospital	Area	Straight-line distance from Neurad, Paschim Vihar
Action Cancer Hospital	Paschim Vihar	about 0.8 km
Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre	Rohini, Sector 5	about 4.3 km
Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh	Shalimar Bagh	about 7.2 km
Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh	Shalimar Bagh	about 7.2 km
BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital	Rajinder Nagar	about 8.2 km
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital	Old Rajinder Nagar	about 9.4 km
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital (AIIMS)	Ansari Nagar	about 16 km
Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket	Saket	about 20 km
Delhi State Cancer Institute	Dilshad Garden	about 20 km
Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital	Vasundhara Enclave	about 22 km
Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals	Sarita Vihar	about 23 km

The pattern is straightforward. If you are being treated in West or North-West Delhi — Paschim Vihar, Rohini, Shalimar Bagh, Rajinder Nagar — a PET-CT centre in Paschim Vihar is close. If you are being treated in South or East Delhi, it is not, and this page will say so rather than pretend otherwise.

Hospital by hospital: what the geography means in practice

Action Cancer Hospital, Paschim Vihar — about 0.8 km

The closest of all. Both are inside Paschim Vihar, a few minutes apart by car. For a patient who is fasting and mid-treatment, this removes the journey almost entirely. It also falls comfortably within our complimentary 3 km pickup radius, so transport can be arranged rather than booked twice.

Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Rohini — about 4.3 km

RGCIRC on Sir Chotu Ram Marg in Rohini Institutional Area, Sector 5, is one of the busiest dedicated cancer institutes in North India, and it is the major cancer hospital nearest to Paschim Vihar.

Roughly 4.3 km in a straight line, typically 6 to 8 km by road via the Outer Ring Road or through Rohini and Peeragarhi depending on where you join. Outside peak hours this is a short run; in the evening it is slower.

A practical note for RGCIRC patients: at that distance you are outside the 3 km complimentary pickup radius. Transport beyond 3 km is charged at Rs 50 per km. That is stated here rather than left as a surprise.

Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh — about 7.2 km

Shalimar Bagh sits north-east of Paschim Vihar. Road route is usually via the Outer Ring Road. A reasonable run outside rush hour, longer in the evening.

Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh — about 7.2 km

On Shaheed Udham Singh Marg in Poorbi Shalimar Bagh, at effectively the same distance as Max Shalimar Bagh, reached by the same corridor.

BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, Rajinder Nagar — about 8.2 km

On Pusa Road. From Paschim Vihar the route runs south-east via Punjabi Bagh and the Ring Road. Traffic on that stretch varies considerably by hour, which matters when the patient has been fasting since the previous night.

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Old Rajinder Nagar — about 9.4 km

A short distance beyond BLK-Max on the same broad corridor. Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital on Pusa Road sits at a similar distance.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS — about 16 km

IRCH at the AIIMS campus in Ansari Nagar is one of the country’s principal cancer treatment centres. It is about 16 km from Paschim Vihar in a straight line, which is a genuine journey across the city.

An honest point for AIIMS patients. AIIMS has its own nuclear medicine department, and investigations there are heavily subsidised in a way no private centre can match. If your scan can be done within AIIMS in a timeframe your oncologist is satisfied with, that is very often the sensible choice, and this page is not going to suggest otherwise.

Where patients do look outside is usually for one of two reasons: the wait for a slot is longer than the treatment schedule allows, or a specific tracer is needed sooner than it can be arranged. Those are timing questions, not price questions.

Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket — about 20 km

South Delhi. Max Saket and Max Smart Saket sit adjacent to one another on Press Enclave Marg. At this distance, a Paschim Vihar centre is not the convenient option for a routine scan, and it would be dishonest to present it as one.

Delhi State Cancer Institute, Dilshad Garden — about 20 km

East Delhi, in GTB Enclave. A government institute where treatment and investigations are subsidised. Again, distance and subsidy both point towards staying local unless there is a specific reason not to.

Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Vasundhara Enclave — about 22 km

East Delhi, a long journey from Paschim Vihar across the city.

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Sarita Vihar — about 23 km

South-east Delhi, on NH-19. The furthest of the hospitals listed here.

Distance is one factor. Here are the four that usually matter more

Families tend to decide on distance and price. In practice, the scan is judged by whether it answered the clinical question, and four other things decide that.

1. Is the prescribed tracer actually available?

This is the factor that most often forces a patient to look beyond their hospital, and the one least understood.

Look at your prescription. Somewhere on it is a word: FDG, PSMA, DOTANOC, FAPI, FDOPA, Exendin or Trivehexin. That word is the tracer, and it determines what the scan can see.

FDG is a glucose analogue tagged with Fluorine-18, which has a half-life of about 110 minutes. That is long enough for FDG to be produced in a cyclotron facility and delivered to a centre the same morning, in a dose calculated for a specific patient at a specific appointment. This is why most PET centres offer FDG.

PSMA, DOTANOC, FAPI, Exendin and Trivehexin are built on Gallium-68, whose half-life is roughly 68 minutes. It cannot be manufactured far away and shipped — most of it would decay in transit. It has to be produced close to the patient, on the day, from a generator.

Practically, that means a centre either has its own generator or arranges supply from outside on particular days. If your prescription says PSMA and you are told to come back on Thursday, that is usually why.

Do not accept a substitute tracer to avoid waiting. The tracer is chosen to answer a specific question. FDG uptake in prostate cancer is often low, which is why PSMA is used there. Well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours express somatostatin receptors, which is what DOTANOC targets. Some gastric, pancreatic and hepatic cancers show limited FDG uptake, which is where FAPI is used. Paying less for a scan that cannot answer the question means paying again for the correct one.

2. Does the timing fit your treatment schedule?

An interim response scan exists to inform a decision about the next cycle. If the scan happens after that decision has already been made, its value drops sharply.

When you book, say plainly: “My next cycle is on this date, and my oncologist needs the report before then.” A centre that cannot commit to that timeline should tell you so, and you should ask.

3. Will your previous scans be compared?

This is the single most underestimated point on this page.

A PET CT read on its own answers a small question: what does this scan show. A PET CT read alongside your earlier imaging answers the real question: has this grown, shrunk, or stayed the same since last time.

Carry every previous scan and report — earlier PET CTs, CTs, MRIs, biopsy and histopathology reports. Not because it is procedure, but because a report written without them is worth less for exactly the same money.

Where practical, having a sequence of scans at the same centre helps, because comparison is more reliable when the earlier images are in the same system and read by the same team.

4. Who reports it?

The report is the product; the scan is how it is produced. Ask directly who will read the study and what their qualification is. Ask whether reporting is done in-house or sent out.

What a PET CT costs — and the questions that protect you

Our rates are published openly — FDG whole body Rs 7,999, FDG brain Rs 9,999, PSMA Rs 15,999, DOTANOC Rs 19,999, FAPI Rs 21,999, with every study listed on our PET CT page. Each figure includes the scan, the tracer and the reporting, and nothing is added at the counter. Contrast or additional views are occasionally required by the protocol, so send your prescription on WhatsApp to 8368225620 and we will confirm the complete figure for your exact study in writing before you book.

The rate depends on the tracer, whether the study is whole body or regional, whether the CT component uses contrast, whether delayed imaging is required, the clinical indication, and patient weight, since the dose is calculated by weight.

Rather than compare figures over the phone, compare what sits behind them.

Nine questions to ask before you pay anywhere

Is the tracer included in the figure you just quoted? The single most important question, and the item most often left out.
Is CT contrast included, or billed separately? Ask what happens if the reporting doctor decides contrast is needed.
Is the reporting charge included?
Are consumables, cannula and injection charges included?
What is the total I will pay at the counter? Ask exactly that, and ask for it in writing on WhatsApp.
Is my prescribed tracer available on the date you are offering?
Who reports the scan, and what are their qualifications?
When will the report be ready, and can it be before my next cycle on [date]?
If the scan must be repeated for a preparation reason, what happens?

Screenshot that list. Use it on every call you make — including your call to us.

Three charges that often surface only at billing

Contrast, when a figure was quoted for a plain study. Reporting, occasionally billed separately where it is outsourced. Consumables and injection charges, sometimes itemised.

None of these is necessarily unfair. Finding out about them after the scan is. Question five exists to prevent exactly that.

Check insurance before you negotiate

Families spend a great deal of effort seeking a small discount and very little checking whether the scan is covered at all. The second is worth far more.

If your treatment is covered under a health policy, a corporate scheme, CGHS, ECHS or a government scheme, the associated diagnostic imaging may also be covered — but the process usually has to begin before the scan.

Ask your treating hospital’s insurance or TPA desk whether PET CT is covered for your indication
Ask whether it is covered as an outpatient investigation or only during an admission
Ask what paperwork is required and who raises it
Ask the diagnostic centre whether they are empanelled with your insurer or scheme
Make sure the prescription states the clinical indication, not just the words “PET CT”

That last point matters more than it appears. A prescription reading “FDG PET CT whole body for restaging — carcinoma breast, post 4 cycles chemotherapy” connects the investigation to a diagnosed condition. A slip reading only “PET CT” tells a claims assessor nothing.

Travel, and the costs nobody quotes

A PET CT is a two to three hour appointment with a fasting patient. The amount that leaves your pocket on scan day includes several things that appear in no quotation.

Two cab journeys, sometimes four. This is not a trip to make by bus with an elderly parent who has not eaten since the previous night. If an attendant travels separately, that doubles.

An attendant’s working day. Someone has to come. For most families that is a day of leave.

The repeat scan. The largest avoidable cost of all. An FDG study needs proper fasting, a blood sugar check before the injection, and no strenuous exercise for around 24 hours beforehand. If that is not explained properly, images can be difficult to read — and a repeat is the full amount again, plus another fasting morning for someone already unwell.

Separate trips for related tests. If blood work or an image-guided FNAC or biopsy has also been advised, doing them on separate days at separate places multiplies travel and leave.

On pickup: ours is complimentary within a 3 km radius. Beyond that it is charged at Rs 50 per km. Action Cancer Hospital falls inside; RGCIRC in Rohini does not. Ask and we will tell you exactly what applies to your address rather than leaving you to find out later.

Preparing for a PET CT — the cheapest thing you can do

Preparation is treated as a formality by many patients. It is actually cost control.

Fasting

Usually around 6 hours for an FDG study. Plain water is allowed and encouraged — hydration helps. No tea, coffee, juice, milk, sweets or chewing gum. Sugar-free gum is also generally discouraged, because chewing activates jaw muscles which take up the tracer.

The reason is direct: FDG is a sugar analogue. If a lot of ordinary glucose is already circulating, it competes with the tracer and reduces uptake in the tissue the doctor needs to see.

Blood sugar

Checked before the injection. If it is above the acceptable threshold, the scan may need to be rescheduled — not to inconvenience you, but because the images would be compromised.

If you are diabetic, plan rather than improvise. Tell the centre when you book, say what medication you take and at what times, and ask how to handle it on the morning. Do not simply skip medication on your own initiative. Diabetic patients have PET scans routinely; it just needs a conversation in advance.

Physical activity

Avoid strenuous exercise for around 24 hours beforehand. Worked muscles take up FDG and bright muscle uptake can obscure findings. This includes gym sessions, long walks and heavy physical work.

Keeping warm

In cooler months, stay warm before and during the uptake period. Cold activates brown fat, which takes up FDG and complicates interpretation. Carry a shawl in winter.

What to bring

The prescription, with the clinical indication written on it
All previous scans and reports — PET CTs, CTs, MRIs, biopsy and histopathology
A list of current medications
Insurance, corporate scheme, CGHS or ECHS documents if applicable
Photo identification
An attendant, if you would like one

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Tell the centre before anything is injected. This is important and it changes what is done.

What happens on the day

Registration and blood sugar check. Paperwork completed, blood glucose measured.

The injection. Given through a vein in the arm, much like a routine blood test. It does not hurt beyond the needle prick and does not make you feel unwell.

The uptake period. Roughly 45 to 60 minutes of quiet rest while the tracer distributes. You will be asked not to talk much, not to walk around and not to use your phone actively — because muscle activity during this window shows on the images. Talking lights up the muscles of the larynx; walking lights up the legs. Patients who are not warned about this find it the most surprising part of the day. Your attendant will usually wait nearby.

The scan. Typically 20 to 30 minutes. You lie on a table that moves slowly through a ring-shaped opening, open at both ends — not an enclosed tunnel like an MRI, and much quieter.

Afterwards. You can normally eat and resume your routine. Drink plenty of water to help clear the tracer, and keep some distance from pregnant women and young children for the rest of the day as a standard precaution.

Plan for two to three hours at the centre. Do not schedule anything tight immediately afterwards.

Understanding the report your oncologist will read

SUV and SUVmax. A numerical measure of how much tracer accumulated in a region, adjusted for injected dose and body weight. A higher value generally indicates more metabolic activity — but it is not a cancer score. Infection and inflammation can raise it, and some cancers show relatively low uptake. It becomes genuinely useful in comparison: a value that has fallen substantially since the last scan carries real meaning.

Deauville score. In lymphoma, response is often reported on a five-point visual scale comparing disease site uptake against reference points such as liver and blood pool. Your oncologist uses this to decide whether treatment continues as planned.

Comparison section. A good report explicitly compares against previous imaging. This is why carrying old films and reports matters.

Impression. The reporting physician’s summary — the part your oncologist reads first.

If something in the report is unclear, the person to ask is your treating doctor, who reads it alongside everything else they know about your case.

Is a PET CT safe?

It involves ionising radiation, from the tracer and from the CT component. The dose is not trivial, which is exactly why it is prescribed for a specific clinical reason rather than offered as a general check-up.

The isotopes decay quickly. Fluorine-18 has a half-life of under two hours; Gallium-68 is faster still at roughly 68 minutes. By the following day essentially none remains active.

Precautions are simple and temporary: drink water, and keep some distance from pregnant women and infants for the remainder of the day. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or might be pregnant, this must be discussed before the scan is scheduled.

What Neurad offers patients referred from these hospitals

Neurad Diagnostic and Healthcare LLP is a dedicated PET-CT and nuclear medicine centre at B-3, opposite Metro Pillar No. 233, near Paschim Vihar West Metro Station, New Multan Nagar, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110056. Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Sunday closed.

An in-house ⁶⁸Ga generator. PSMA, DOTANOC, FAPI, Exendin and Trivehexin studies are produced on site and scheduled on working days, rather than held until an outside supply is arranged. When an oncologist wants a restaging scan before the next cycle, days matter.

Reported by our own nuclear medicine team, not outsourced. The team that performs the study reads it.

Comparison with your previous imaging, provided you bring it. Carry everything.

Written preparation instructions specific to your tracer, sent when you book — protection against the most expensive outcome, a repeated scan.

Blood sugar checked before injection as standard, with diabetic patients planned in advance rather than managed on the morning.

Scan, image-guided FNAC or biopsy, and blood work in one visit where clinically appropriate, so a patient mid-treatment is not making three separate journeys.

Complimentary pickup and drop within 3 km; beyond that, Rs 50 per km. Tell us the hospital or your home address and we will confirm exactly what applies.

The all-inclusive rate in writing before you book. Send the prescription, get the number, then decide.

How to get your rate and slot in about ten minutes

Photograph the prescription — the whole slip, including the indication your doctor has written
Send it on WhatsApp to 8368225620
Tell us three things: which hospital you are being treated at, the date of your next cycle or oncology appointment, and whether you are covered by any insurance or scheme
Ask: “What is the total all-inclusive amount I will pay at the counter, and can the report be ready before [date]?”

You will get back the all-inclusive rate for your exact study, the next available slot, the written preparation instructions for your tracer, and confirmation of what pickup applies to your address. There is no charge for asking and no obligation to book.

Then ask two other centres the same nine questions and compare the written replies rather than the phone conversations.

Frequently asked questions

Which cancer hospital in Delhi is closest to a dedicated PET-CT centre in Paschim Vihar?

Action Cancer Hospital, also in Paschim Vihar, is about 0.8 km away. Among the larger dedicated cancer institutes, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre in Rohini is nearest at roughly 4.3 km in a straight line.

Can I have my PET CT outside the hospital where I am being treated?

Yes, this is common practice. Your oncologist needs the report, not the building it was produced in. What matters is that the correct tracer is used, the study is reported by a qualified nuclear medicine physician, your previous imaging is compared, and the report reaches your doctor in time for the decision it is meant to inform.

I am being treated at AIIMS. Should I have the scan outside?

Not necessarily, and this page will not pretend otherwise. AIIMS has its own nuclear medicine department and investigations there are heavily subsidised. If a slot is available within a timeframe your oncologist is satisfied with, that is often the sensible choice. Patients usually look outside only when the wait does not fit the treatment schedule or a specific tracer is needed sooner.

Are you affiliated with any of these hospitals?

No. Neurad Diagnostic and Healthcare LLP is an independent diagnostic centre and is not part of, owned by, or officially affiliated with any hospital named on this page. They are named because their patients ask us these questions.

My prescription says PSMA and I have been told to wait several days. Why?

PSMA is built on Gallium-68, whose half-life is roughly 68 minutes, so it cannot be shipped from a distant facility. It must be produced close to the patient on the day. Centres either have their own generator or arrange supply on specific days. Ours is produced in-house, so these studies are scheduled on working days.

Can I have an FDG scan instead of PSMA to avoid the wait?

No. The tracer is chosen to answer a specific clinical question. FDG uptake in prostate cancer is often low, which is exactly why PSMA is used there. Substituting the tracer usually means paying twice.

Do you provide pickup from Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute?

Pickup is complimentary within a 3 km radius of the centre. RGCIRC in Rohini is beyond that, so transport would be charged at Rs 50 per km. Tell us your address when you book and we will confirm the exact position.

How soon can I get an appointment?

It depends on the tracer and the day. Tell us the date of your next cycle when you message, so the slot can be planned around the decision your oncologist has to make.

Why do I have to carry my old scans?

Because comparison is usually the real clinical question. A report that says a lesion has reduced since your previous study is far more useful to your oncologist than one describing the same lesion in isolation — and it costs the same.

How much does a PET CT scan cost?

Is PET CT covered by insurance or CGHS?

It can be, depending on your policy or entitlement and the clinical indication. Begin the process before the scan rather than after payment, and make sure the prescription states the indication.

Do I need a prescription?

Yes. A valid prescription is required for all PET CT studies, both clinically and as a regulatory requirement.

How long will I be at the centre?

Plan for two to three hours: registration and blood sugar check, injection, a 45 to 60 minute quiet uptake period, then a 20 to 30 minute scan.

What if my blood sugar is high on the day?

The scan may be rescheduled, because elevated glucose competes with the FDG tracer and reduces image quality. This is why diabetic patients should raise it at the time of booking.

Will the report reach my oncologist directly?

Tell us at booking who needs it and by when. If your oncologist requires it before a specific appointment or cycle, say so and the timing can be planned around that.

If you are holding a prescription right now

Photograph it and send it to 8368225620 on WhatsApp. Tell us which hospital you are being treated at and when your next cycle is due. You will get the all-inclusive rate, the next available slot, the written preparation instructions and confirmation of what pickup applies.

Prefer to speak to someone? Call 8368225620 or 7011968879, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

And if the handwriting is unclear or the words mean nothing to you, send it anyway. Working out which study has been advised is our job, not yours.

Hospital names and locations on this page are stated as matters of public fact for the purpose of describing distance and are used for identification only. Distances are straight-line measurements between mapped coordinates and are approximate; road distance and travel time will be greater. Neurad Diagnostic and Healthcare LLP is an independent diagnostic centre with no affiliation to any hospital named here. This page is general information and is not medical advice. Which scan you need is decided by your treating doctor, and a valid prescription is required for all PET CT studies.